Chapter 56: Even the Absolute Being Is a First-Time Dad
Absolute One Is New to Fatherhood - Episode 56
Even after resigning from the furniture factory where she worked, Lee Soo-bin's days remained hectic and breathless, leaving her no time to rest.
"Sigh, where would be good...?"
Ever since receiving the lottery jackpot, she had been tirelessly searching for a new home for her family.
"I think it's about time I seriously decide where to move..."
She needed to finalize a house soon and find a daycare for Seol so her daughter could start attending when the new semester began.
"I heard transferring mid-semester makes it harder for kids to adjust..."
As Soo-bin anxiously chewed on the end of her pen while scrolling through real estate listings on her phone—
"What's wrong?"
Kang-jun, who had come to get water, tilted his head curiously at the sight of her.
"Oh, it's about moving..."
"Moving? Why?"
"Everything just feels... uncertain."
After a pause, Soo-bin opened up.
"If we move to a safe area with low Gate occurrence rates, the apartments seem too small for the price..."
"And?"
"But if I prioritize space, those neighborhoods have higher Gate frequencies, which feels risky and unsettling..."
Trailing off, she added self-deprecatingly:
"They say human greed has no limits—I guess I'm proof of that. Even with ten billion won, I still feel dissatisfied..."
Kang-jun casually replied:
"Well, that's understandable."
Then he asked:
"Can't you take your time looking?"
If time wasn't an issue, he considered buying a property himself to rent to her cheaply.
"I could wait, if not for Seol's daycare..."
"Daycare?"
"The new semester starts soon since it's the beginning of the year."
Soo-bin tucked her hair behind her ear and added seriously:
"To enroll her smoothly at the semester's start, we need to settle the move as soon as possible."
Kang-jun scratched his head.
"I see..."
Then an idea struck him.
"Why not get a bank loan?"
At the word "bank," Soo-bin unconsciously frowned, recalling her past loan rejections during financial struggles.
"A bank..."
If she could secure a loan, she could move to a safe area and still have ample living expenses.
"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained... Maybe I should try."
Now with solid collateral for a jeonse loan, the process might be easier.
"Right, I'll visit the bank first thing tomorrow."
Silent until now, Kang-jun interjected:
"Noona, should I ask Bong-gu for help?"
"Ask him what?"
"He mentioned knowing a banker."
Rubbing his nose, he added:
"He insisted I reach out if you ever needed assistance."
"Really?" Soo-bin blinked, then nodded repeatedly. "I'd really appreciate that. Honestly, I'm a little scared of banks..."
Kang-jun had actually recalled Kazan, the goblin overseeing the Secret Society of Wealth—though claiming close acquaintance felt like a white lie.
"Scared of banks?"
"Yeah." Soo-bin lowered her voice. "When I was struggling, I tried getting loans a few times..."
"And?"
"With no stable job, I kept getting rejected. The way they coldly interrogated me before turning me down... I felt like such a failure."
An awkward silence fell before she forced a smile.
"I know they were just doing their jobs, but that memory still makes banks intimidating."
Kang-jun shrugged it off.
"That's in the past."
Then he suggested:
"Anyway, I'll arrange it. For now, get some rest."
"I can't sleep..."
"Then at least decide on a house without worrying about cost."
Soo-bin grinned at her brother's nonchalance.
"Having you around feels reassuring."
For Kang-jun, one call to Kazan could solve everything—unlimited loan, flexible repayment, lowest interest.
But.
His sister's fear of banks and her "unpleasant experience" nagged at him.
Entering the Secret Society of Wealth's private bank hidden in the market, Soo-bin felt immediately out of place.
"One moment..."
The stern goblin teller before her kept typing furiously without looking up.
Other goblin clerks bustled about with thick documents while unintelligible jargon flew around. The other clients all exuded aristocratic wealth.
'This really is a bank for the elite... I don't belong here.'
She glanced around nervously.
'Where did Kang-jun go anyway?'
Mid-consultation, she'd turned to find her brother and Seol gone.
"To conclude..."
As the goblin spoke, Soo-bin wiped her sweaty palms on her pants.
"The loan is fully approved."
"R-really?"
"Please wait a moment."
"O-of course!"
Just then, a goblin in an impeccable tuxedo rushed over.
"Ms. Lee Soo-bin?"
"Yes, that's me..."
"I'm Director Kazan."
His deep bow sent murmurs rippling through the bank.
"Who is she to warrant the director's personal reception?"
"She must be incredibly wealthy despite her modest appearance."
"For the proud Kazan to serve her directly..."
Noticing the stares, Soo-bin fidgeted helplessly.
"Shall we proceed with the loan in our VVIP reception room?"
"Me? You mean me?"
"Given the indisputable status of your guarantor, we can certainly consider you a VVIP client of our bank."
The goblin clapped his hands with a clap, and a younger-looking goblin promptly stepped forward to hold her handbag.
"If you're not seeking an astronomical loan amount, the process should proceed without any issues."
"Eh?"
"The repayment period can be set quite flexibly, and the interest rate will be fixed at an annual rate of 0.5%..."
At those words, Lee Soo-bin unconsciously tapped her mental calculator before covering her mouth with her hand in surprise.
"0.5% annually? That means even if I borrow a billion won, I'd only need to pay 400,000 won per month?"
"Correct. To be precise, you'd pay approximately 466,000 won in monthly interest."
Considering most bank loans for jeonse (Korean housing deposit system) carried interest rates around 2% annually, these were unbelievably favorable terms.
"Excuse me, but isn't this interest rate unusually low?"
"That's because a VVIP client has personally guaranteed your loan."
Soo-bin exhaled a soft "Wow" as she thought to herself, 'Bong-gu must have really made it big...'
She mistakenly believed all these benefits came from being acquainted with Bong-gu, who had recently become a 'B-rank Hunter.'
Then.
Without realizing it, Soo-bin's gaze drifted to the documents held by Kazan walking beside her.
Soo-bin tilted her head slightly and asked, "Chief Manager, I didn't mean to peek but..."
"Yes?"
"It seems you're preparing to do something wonderful."
Kazan murmured "Ah" before responding, "This foundation for underprivileged children isn't our bank's initiative. It's a project a certain VVIP client wishes to pursue independently."
"I see..."
"This particular request was quite unexpected, but our bank assists with any client request without discrimination."
Soo-bin nodded. "Wow, they must have an incredibly generous heart."
After brief contemplation, Kazan answered meaningfully, "Hmm, perhaps."
Then he added, "To some, they might be remembered that way. As warm, virtuous, and affectionate."
"Huh?"
"But to others... they might be remembered as more terrifying than any nightmare."
The elderly goblin smiled sinisterly before continuing his veiled words, "Prominent figures are often like that. I consider myself fortunate to remember them as the former."
Suddenly, Soo-bin gasped and looked back down the long corridor they'd entered, babbling anxiously, "Wait, but my brother—"
Distracted by the loan terms and Kazan's smooth talk, she hadn't even noticed her brother had disappeared.
Kazan, who had unconsciously begun to say "The Great—", suddenly paled and firmly shut his mouth.
"Ahem, hmm."
After clearing his throat unnecessarily, he said quietly, "Your companion is currently enjoying time with his daughter at the play facilities prepared in the VVIP reception room."
"Oh, I see." Soo-bin hummed cheerfully as she followed Kazan.
'Anyway, what a relief.'
With the prospect of securing a loan on such favorable terms, all her worries melted away like snow.
'Lately, everything seems to be working out so smoothly...'
She was happy.
As Kazan had said, Kang-jun was sitting sprawled on the VVIP reception room sofa, staring intently at Seol sliding down the slide.
"Daddy, watch this!"
"Yeah, I'm watching."
"Wheeeee!"
Seol showed no signs of tiring, already having climbed up and slid down dozens of times.
"Is it really that fun...?"
Kang-jun eventually stood up.
"It's been hundreds of years since I last used a slide..."
Seeing Seol enjoy it so much made him want to try it himself.
Then.
Kang-jun's brow furrowed sharply as he sensed something, his gaze piercing through the gold-plated ceiling.
"What's this?"
Something unsettling was happening nearby.
Danger, chaos, confusion—negative associations flooded his mind.
And that ominous premonition that rarely proved wrong...
At that moment.
Deep beneath Area 51 in Nevada, USA, the underground research facility was unusually abuzz.
"D-Doctor!"
The saint of future sight, who had been unconscious and motionless since her prophecy months ago, was showing signs of awakening.
Beepbeepbeep—!
The monitors displaying her vital signs showed erratic, violent curves as graphs danced wildly.
"Haa, haa..."
Her eyes fluttered open as she struggled to speak.
"A... divine revelation has come..."
The doctor rushed forward before she could finish. "Mercy, your last prophecy was wrong."
"That's impossible..."
"The calamity called Immortal never appeared."
Her eyes shook violently at his words.
"But I clearly saw Immortal both last time and this time..."
Though her visions were fragmentary, they were accurate.
Mercy licked her parched lips before continuing.
"The Immortal I saw was caring for a human girl about three or four years old with all his heart and soul..."
Question marks practically floated above every researcher's head.
Hadn't her last prophecy described him as a calamity even gods feared?
Why would such a monster be tending to a little girl?
"And despite having already attained divinity and ascended to godhood, for some reason..."
She coughed up blood before continuing.
"He... seemed to desire nothing, only striving to protect something."
"Protect what from what?"
"A-as if trying to protect this dimension from the calamity soon to befall Earth..."
Mercy suddenly vomited dark red blood, forcing out her final words with tremendous effort.
"A... calamity unlike any before is coming to Earth..."
"What calamity?"
"I saw... gates opening and giants pouring forth..."
In her fragmented vision, the Immortal was locked in desperate combat with Asgard's "Sewn-Mouth Giants."
"Immortal..."
Mercy's voice scraped like sandpaper.
"The one who became God '■■■'..."
One last time.
"Only he can stop the calamity..."
With those final words, the saint of prophecy, Mercy, lost consciousness again.
Then.
Suddenly, red dots appeared on the laboratory radar before alarm sirens began blaring.
"My God..."
It was the warning for signs of a "Calamity-grade Gate"—the highest threat level.
In three years, only one Calamity-grade Gate had appeared on Earth.
The one in New Delhi had turned Southeast Asia into uninhabitable monster territory.
"Predicted location?"
The doctor's fearful question was answered by a researcher swallowing hard.
"Seoul..."
"Seoul?"
"South Korea's capital..."
If this continued...
"Not just Korea, but neighboring nations would be finished too..."
The doctor clutched his throbbing head as he issued weak instructions.
"Notify the World Awakened Association immediately without delay..."